Fireworks panic causes death of racing colt

A VALUABLE 12 week old colt foal had to be put down on after fleeing its mother's side in terror at the fireworks let off at the Henley Lake public display last Friday night and breaking its leg after bolting into the darkness.
Masterton equine veterinarian John McLaren was called to the Little Avondale horse stud to discover the young foal in such a distressed state, all he could do was put him down.
"In all my years as a vet, it was one of the most distressing in that the death was so unnecessary.," Mr McLaren said.
"He was a perfectly healthy foal which had to die because of a few stupid fireworks."
Stud master Sam Williams, equally distressed at losing the foal, said he and his staff had done all they could to shelter the horses and keep those left in the yards as calm as possible.
"Every year when the fireworks display comes around we prepare the animals," said Mr Williams, who vividly recalls a horse so frightened by the booms last year that he ran right through a closed gate.
"We have around 190 yearlings being groomed for the January sales and can manage to house around 20 of them in boxes to protect them from fireworks. The rest have to ride out the noise in the yards and we had four staff on all through Friday night trying to calm them. It's a nightmare situation."
Mr Williams said this year's display seemed to be noisier than usual and even their cattle and dogs were greatly disturbed.
The dead foal was a colt out of mare Wake up Suzie by Towkay, which makes it a full brother to well-known race horse Kays Awake. In the horse stud's latest newsletter, the foal was described as "gorgeous".
Mr Williams did not want how much money was at stake from losing him except to say it was "quite substantial".
The mare was so troubled at losing her foal, she was bundled up into a horse float and transported to Cambridge where there are several motherless foals she could be put with.
Mr Williams and Mr McLaren say they're fed up with having to cope with the aftermath of the fireworks display. The stud is in Morris Road, around 1.5km across the Ruamahunga River and a few paddocks from Henley Lake.
They suggest Solway Showgrounds would be a better venue ? if fireworks displays have to be held at all.
"We plan to petition the council not to use Henley Lake any more. There's too many animals and bird life at stake around here," Mr Williams said.
Neighbour Julie Collier-Wall runs horses on her property on the corner of Te Ore Ore and Bideford roads. She was livid to hear of the Williams' foal loss.
"Our entire family had to be out with our horses last Friday. The horses were off their faces with fear from the fireworks," she said.
" It's become a real sore point over the seven years we've lived here and I think it's disgusting that a business such as Little Avondale has to lose money in such a way."
She said she would also be complaining to the council about the Henley Lake venue.
It wasn't only just horses that were victims of fireworks in Masterton.
The Hebberley family in Harley Street are mourning the loss of Shadow, their six-year-old black cat which was found tangled in a fence with a broken leg and had to be put down. Judy Hebberley said the cat disappeared when neighbourhood fireworks started going off.